Drink Beer at Oktoberfest in Germany
Find a place at a long shared table, lift a one-litre Maß and let a brass band turn a vast tent into one room. Drinking beer at Munich’s Oktoberfest is a communal ritual wrapped inside a huge folk festival of parades, fairground rides, Bavarian food and astonishingly efficient service. The festival began in 1810 with celebrations for the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese; the Theresienwiese still carries her name. Each large tent has its own atmosphere and serves beer from a Munich brewery. Admission to the grounds and most tents is free, but a seat matters because beer is generally served at tables. Book travel and accommodation early, research official reservations for a group and use the published crowd forecast if you are visiting without one. Eat properly, pace a litre carefully, alternate with water and plan public transport rather than driving. Non-alcoholic beer and the wider festival make abstaining entirely possible. Add this to your list for the singing, table-sharing and ceremony, with the beer kept in proportion.